The Ransomware Files

In 2019, 23 cities across Texas were infected with the REvil/Sodinokibi ransomware in one of the largest ransomware attacks that has ever occurred in the US. The cities recovered with remarkable speed due to the state's diligent preparation. But a small managed service provider called TSM Consulting, which the ransomware actors exploited in a supply-chain style attack, sustained irreparable damage. It's a heartbreaking story...

What if destructive malware disguised as ransomware nearly sank not just one company but many? Shipping giant Maersk was one of dozens of organisations crippled by the NotPetya malware in June 2017. Gavin Ashton and Bharat Halai worked in identity and access management at Maersk. They share how the company's technology team tirelessly brought the company back from an IT systems meltdown and rescued the company's sole surviving copy of Active Directory...

Cybersecurity experts are increasingly worried about attacks and ransomware directed at the 70,000 water and wastewater facilities in the United States. In November 2020, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which serves 1.7 million people in eastern Virginia, was infected with the Ryuk ransomware. Fortunately, its operational technology systems were unaffected, and it recovered...

Matthews is an Australian company that specializes in intelligent identification, labelling and inspection systems used by the food and beverage industry. In early 2020, it faced a "double extortion" attempt from ransomware actors. But Matthews fought back, recovered its data and saved its business. Matthews is one of hundreds of organizations in Australia that have been hit by ransomware, and the government is now taking action...

Ski Kacoroski is a systems administrator with the Northshore School District in Bothell, Washington, which has 23,000 students. In 2019, the district was infected by Emotet and Trickbot, two notorious types of malware. Access to the district's systems was auctioned off twice by cybercriminals, and the district's system were eventually infected in September 2019 with the Ryuk ransomware. But the district recovered through tenacity and luck...

The Ransomware Files podcast tells the harrowing stories of IT pros who have fought back against ransomware, the greatest crime wave the Internet has ever seen.